APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR HARDENING A CAM LOCK

APPAREIL ET PROCEDE POUR DURCIR UNE SERRURE A CAME

English Abstract

A hardening bracket for hardening a cam lock is disclosed. The hardening
bracket includes a
hole adjacent to a first end for admitting a lock cylinder of a cam lock
therethrough, a hole
adjacent to a second end for providing access to a screw fastener securing a
cam to the lock
cylinder, and an angled flange at the second end, configured to support the
cam of the cam lock
against bending. A method for hardening a cam lock is also disclosed. The
method for
hardening a cam lock includes attaching a hardening bracket as described above
to a lock
cylinder of a cam lock such that the angled flange is adjacent to a cam of the
cam lock, securing
the hardening bracket to the cam lock using a locking ring, and installing the
cam lock in a door
of a personal compartment.

Claims

CLAIMS
What is claimed is:
1. A hardening bracket for hardening a cam lock, said hardening bracket
comprising:
a hole adjacent to a first end for admitting a lock cylinder of a cam lock
therethrough;
a hole adjacent to a second end for providing access to a screw fastener
securing a
cam to said lock cylinder; and
an angled flange at said second end, configured to support said cam of said
cam
lock against bending.
2. The hardening bracket according to claim 1, wherein said bracket comprises
a galvanized
or otherwise corrosion resistant steel.
3. A method for hardening a cam lock, comprising:
attaching a hardening bracket as described in claim 1 to a lock cylinder of a
cam
lock such that said angled flange is adjacent to a cam of said cam lock;
securing said hardening bracket to said cam lock using a locking ring; and
installing said cam lock in a door of a personal compartment.
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Description

CA 02734421 2011-03-18
APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR HARDENING A CAM LOCK
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to apparatus and methods of hardening locks.
More
particularly, the present invention is directed to apparatus and methods of
hardening cam locks
as may be commonly used to secure personal compartments of multi-compartment
boxes such as
mailboxes.
BACKGROUND
Locked personal compartments of multi-compartment boxes, such as mailboxes,
are
commonly used to provide secure storage and access for individual authorized
users, by means
of securement with a cam type lock for the door of each personal compartment.
However, such
cam locks used to secure personal compartments are prone to mechanical force
attacks, such as
by prying open the door of the personal compartment to gain access to its
contents. Accordingly,
due to the risk of loss of the contents of such personal compartments,
apparatus and methods of
hardening cam locks are desired.
SUMMARY
In one aspect of the present invention, a hardening bracket for hardening a
cam lock is
provided. In such an embodiment, the hardening bracket comprise a hole
adjacent to a first end
for admitting a lock cylinder of a cam lock therethrough, a hole adjacent to a
second end for
providing access to a screw fastener securing a cam to said lock cylinder, and
an angled flange at
said second end, configured to support said cam of said cam lock against
bending.
In another aspect of the present invention, a method for hardening a cam lock
is provided.
In such an embodiment, the method for hardening a cam lock comprises attaching
a hardening
bracket as described above to a lock cylinder of a cam lock such that said
angled flange is
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CA 02734421 2011-03-18
adjacent to a cam of said cam lock, securing said hardening bracket to said
cam lock using a
locking ring, and installing said cam lock in a door of a personal
compartment.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
Figure 1 illustrates a perspective view of a lock hardening apparatus or
bracket according
to an embodiment of the invention.
Figure 2 illustrates a side view of a lock hardening apparatus or bracket
according to an
embodiment of the invention.
Figure 3 illustrates a bottom view of a lock hardening apparatus or bracket
according to
an embodiment of the invention.
Figure 4 illustrates a side perspective view of a lock hardening apparatus or
bracket
according to an embodiment of the invention.
Figure 5 illustrates an end view of a lock hardening apparatus or bracket
according to an
embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
When a conventional locked personal compartment, such as a personal mailbox
compartment, is pried open by unauthorized persons, such as thieves, the cam
of the personal
compartment lock is typically bent until it separates from the lock base, or
at least until it
typically bends sufficiently to clear the frame of the personal compartment to
allow the
compartment door to be opened without authorized use of the key to open the
lock.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the present hardening
apparatus
or hardening bracket may be applied to the lock of a personal compartment, so
as to resist this
type of typical attack, as will be appreciated by considering the following
described illustrative
but non-limiting embodiment.
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CA 02734421 2011-03-18
In one embodiment, a hardening apparatus or hardening bracket as shown in
Figure 1 is
retained on the base or cylinder of a cam lock assembly, such as by using a
typical threaded
locking ring that may also used to secure the base of the lock to the door of
the locking personal
compartment, such as is shown in Figures 2 to 5. By virtue of the properties
of the hardening
apparatus or hardening bracket, including its shape and its angles including
the angle and shape
of a first cam-reinforcing end, the hardening apparatus or bracket may
desirably act to buttress
and brace or support the cam element of the cam-type lock so that when force
is applied to the
door of a personal compartment locked by the cam lock, such as by a person
attempting to break
into the personal compartment, the hardening apparatus or bracket is operable
to resist the force
applied to the cam element by bracing or holding the cam in place and
preventing it from being
bent backwards or away from the frame of the personal compartment.
Accordingly, the
hardening apparatus or bracket thereby desirably provides resistance against
unauthorized forced
entry into the personal compartment.
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